The Cyberpunk Librarian returns with a new vlog!

I’m still working on the show, and the show will be back soon! However, in the meantime I’d like to try some shorter videos about quick topics. I’m also making use of what I consider to be wasted time, driving. I drive quite a bit and I figured, you know, rather than listening to the radio or a podcast — why not create something? So I’m trying this out, car vlogs. Nothing new really, but I don’t think there are all that many about different aspects of libraries and library technology.

On this episode, I talk about my set-up for projecting any tablet or eInk reader on a screen via a digital projector or big-screen television. Doesn’t matter if you have cables, doesn’t matter if it’s a Nook Simple Touch and cables don’t even exist for it. You can put it on screen for those eReader classes for staff and public, and here’s how!

Show Notes:

Simple, but effective.

As you can see from the picture, my setup is pretty easy. I use:

• The Holmes Black Robot Desk Lamp
• Logitech C525 HD Webcam
• FSCamView – A free, open source app from AdLentis to view a webcam full screen on a laptop. Works great with this set up because most webcam programmes only do a windowed mode for video. Direct download.

(Note: Links to products are Amazon Affiliate links. If you buy them through these links, I get a small cut of the sale. No prices are changed because of the Affiliate programme. All funds go to support Cyberpunk Librarian content and shows.)

This is a longer episode, so take it in chunks or whatever! We take a look at how to record audio, edit pre-existing audio, and then layer everything together into a simple podcast set up. As always, if you have any questions you can hit the Contact link up at the top of the site or get me via:

cyberpunklibrarian (at) gmail (dot) com

Show Notes:

Audacity – An awesome free, open source audio editor.

LAME MP3 Encoder – Using Audacity on Windows? Want to save to MP3? Here’s your hookup!

And this time now in video with digital colours and high definitions and all kinds of happy stuff like that!

Welcome to this, the first video episode of Cyberpunk Librarian. In this episode I’m going to take you through a tour of Linux and show you why it’s not scary. Not only that, I’m going to show you how you, yes you, can probably use Linux just fine and how you’ll be able to get things done with it!

Beyond that, this is going to kick of a series within my series about doing things with Linux. This is just laying some simple groundwork, but in the next several episodes, I’ll be showing off software and hardware that you can use within your library to accomplish some really awesome things on a really limited budget.

After all, as long as you have the hardware, Linux is quite free. Can’t get much cheaper than free.

So join me for something a little different, but hopefully entertaining and informative as well!

Download the episode directly.

Or listen right here!

Show notes and links:

• Ubuntu Linux
• Xubuntu Linux – Like Ubuntu but with 100% more XFCE!
• Lubuntu Linux – Like Ubuntu or Xubuntu but with 100% more LXDE!
• The Gnome desktop project
• The KDE desktop project

I was uploading the first video for my video relaunch of Cyberpunk Librarian to YouTube. It’s a big video, something like 18 minutes and, in HD, so you’re looking at 1.9 GB in size. Dandy. Set it up this morning, start the upload, and walk away for a few hours. I know this is going to take some time, but that’s cool. I’ve got other things I can do and it’ll be ready round about noonish.

YAY! It’s done! All righty then, let’s get this tagged and…

Your video has been removed because it’s too long. Sorry about that.

Oh.

Apparently, YouTube has this thing that you have to do to verify your account if you want to upload videos longer than 15 minutes. Basically, you need to provide your cell phone number and they text you a verification code and then you can upload movies longer than 15 minutes.

Huh. I forgot to know that.

So yeah, video rejected. Not a problem. I’ll verify my account and, after all, it’s right there in my video manager, maybe they’ll unlock it after I verify my account.

Nope.

*sigh*

Okay. So I’ll reupload it again… tonight… when I won’t care that my Internet connection is completely saturated. Then I can get it ready to go for Monday.

And thus- Monday, July 2nd: The Return of the Cyberpunk Librarian!

(audio will be available as well through the same iTunes feed as always)

And hey, at least we know how things work now.

Download Episode 004

Or listen right here!

Show Notes:

The Oatmeal – I tried to watch Game of Thrones and this is what happened.

The Ihnatko Almanac

The Ihnatko Almanac – #24: The Big Edit

Music featured in the show:

Solidified by Gramatik

Illusion of Choice by Gramatik

Both are available on the album #DigitalFreedom - Download now from Pretty Lights Music! (And toss some money their way as there’s some awesome music on that site!)

I have to apologize for the delay in the next episode of Cyberpunk Librarian. It’s been a crazy few days at work and, quite frankly, I’ve had time to do everything with the show except record it! I’ve got notes, show notes, postings, and all that ready to roll. I’ve got music on tap and all that, but snagging an hour or so in a quiet room with the laptop, mic, and headphones? Yeah, just hasn’t happened.

I should have CP episode 004 ready to roll by the end of the week and posted on Monday, if not before.

Sorry for the delay. As Strong Bad once said, it’s been crazy-go-nuts!

Download Episode 003

Or listen right here!

Show notes:

A big ol’ page full of Android App recommendations!

The new Google Play Market, because “Android App Market” was just a little too descriptive, you know?

The Amazon App Store.

Music featured in the show:

Optimus L’Chaim (Opening and Closing Theme) by Daniel Messer

On Your Way by Daniel Messer

Gypsy by Radion (featuring John Jacob Niles) – available on New 6.0

Walk Over Ghosts by Détaché – available on New 6.0

Preach It by Addicted White Guy – available on New 6.0

Yoqmage by Oshunmare – available on New 6.0

This time around we’re talking eBook conversion and management with the open source Calibre programme. It’s a too cool piece of software for all of your eBook management needs and, seriously, if you have more than 10 or so eBooks, check it out!

Download Episode 002.

Or listen right here!

Show notes:

Calibre – The very thing I’m droning on about.

Sigil – Newly updated!

Calibre User’s Manual.

Calibre Demos and Tutorials – Learn and be knowledgeable!

Some information on Plugins for Calibre.

Some more information on Calibre Plugins.

Music featured in the show:

Optimus L’Chaim (Opening & Closing) by Daniel Messer.

True Vision by Daniel Messer.

Wishes by Sonuber – available on New 7.0

Glimm (Radion Remox) by Taprikk Sweezee – available on New 7.0

After some thought, I decided to launch a new podcast with some more in depth looks at things that technologically minded library types might find useful or interesting! Since this is the premiere episode, and since I basically have to post this first to get things set up for RSS and iTunes, I don’t have an iTunes feed going just yet. I’ll get one soon though, right after I do a little feed editing and the like.

A few minutes after this little post goes live, I’ll update it with a RSS feed you can stuff into your favourite podcatcher to pick up on the podcast itself. So if you’re just now getting here, stay tuned and check back in ten minutes or so!

Done! Now you can subscribe to the podcast! iTunes link will be available fairly soon! And now you can subscribe through iTunes as well!

Meanwhile, you can always listen online, right here on the site via the nifty little widget below. Or download the podcast directly!

Show Notes:

• Sigil – Main site on Google Code or Download. As a side note, it looks like a new update dropped two days ago. I’ve not played with it yet and the bugs I talk about in this episode may well have been fixed!
• My main website here on Not All Bits.
• The theme music for Cyberpunk Librarian is a tune called Optimus L’Chaim by Daniel Messer. Download available soon. Download.
• Musical interludes through this episode are from the song Tesseract by Daniel Messer. Download.

There’s never a desk hour that I don’t use Chrome to answer a question, get data, and generally help people. Like millions of librarians, I tend to help people through the use of Google.

Now then, props to Google for making everyone aware that there will be some serious changes to their privacy policies and that these changes are coming very soon. They went out of their way to tell you, right down to a forced log off, to force you to log in, and then presenting you with an information screen about the changes. That’s pretty cool. If Facebook forced you to log off for a privacy change or update, you’d get kicked off every other day.

Yesterday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation posted a how to on removing your search data from Google and why you should. I’m not going to reiterate their work, as it’s good work and you should just go read it. What I’m going to do is build on that for a second and tell you why you as a librarian need to remove that data.

I use Google all day, every day. I’m sure you do too. I don’t know about you, but I’m also signed into Google while I’m doing it. I check my Gmail, I’m dealing with Google+, setting up appointments using Google Calendar, and so on.

And I’m also searching for information regarding patron queries while I’m signed in. What that means is that there is data within my own data set that has nothing to do with me. There are laws, ethics, and all kinds of reasons why patron information is confidential and, until March 1, 2012, that information on Google is confidential. After March 1st, Google will use that data to build a better Google which means offering you better ads, recommending videos, and that kind of thing.

But that data isn’t mine, or at least part of it isn’t mine. It’s data that was generated helping a library patron. I propose to you that such data, for all intents and purposes, belongs to the patron. That data wouldn’t have been generated if not for the patron, just like a library card wouldn’t have been generated if a patron hadn’t applied for one. Since we, as librarians, are tasked with protecting patron information, we need to protect that information too.

So, unless you never, ever log into Google and then search Google for patron queries, I really think you need to head over to the EFF and follow their very simple instructions for deleting and locking your Google search history. It takes less than five minutes to do this and, at the end, you’re not only protecting your data, but those of your patrons as well.